The present invention relates to a child vehicle seat, and particularly, to a child vehicle seat coupled to a base adapted to rest on a seat in a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to upright and reclined child vehicle seats.
Child vehicle seats are used to secure young children safely within a vehicle. It is known for infants to be seated in a rear-facing vehicle seat in a reclined position more comfortable to a young child. As the child grows and matures, it becomes necessary to graduate the child from the rear-facing vehicle seat to a front-facing vehicle seat that is preferably in a more upright position, yet still partially reclined. This type of vehicle seat is suitable for toddlers. As the child grows larger but is still in need of a vehicle seat, it becomes necessary to fit the larger child in a third vehicle seat most often in the complete upright position often having a seat belt structure different from that of vehicle seats for smaller children.
It has been observed that for these three child development stages described above, it is often necessary to purchase three different child vehicle seats in order to accommodate the growing child. This is mainly due to the fact that the child vehicle seat must be interchangeable between rear-facing and front-facing positions while also being pivotally movable between inclined and upright positions.
According to the present invention a seat assembly suitable for supporting a child in various recline positions on a vehicle seat is provided. The seat assembly comprises a base and a seat pivotally and detachably coupled to the base. The base includes a body and a recline support coupled to the body. The recline support of the base defines a plurality of adjustable positions. The seat includes a seat shell and a release mechanism coupled to the seat shell. The seat shell is pivotable about an axis relative to the base. The release mechanism is configured to engage the recline support at one of the adjustable positions.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the seat shell includes a bottom seat portion, a back support portion coupled to the bottom seat portion and positioned to lie at an angle to the bottom seat portion, and first and second side walls each coupled to the bottom seat portion and the back support portion and positioned to lie in spaced-apart relation to each other. The axis about which the seat pivots is defined by a mounting rod adapted to extend through the body of the base and the seat shell in order to coupled the seat to the base. The release mechanism includes a release rod coupled to and positioned to lie between the first and second side walls of the seat shell, a release handle coupled to the release rod and positioned to lie between the first and second side walls of the seat shell, and a spring coupled to the release rod and the seat shell. The spring is provided in order to bias the release rod into engagement with one of the adjustable positions of the recline support. The adjustable positions are defined by teeth which form detents and recesses for receiving the release rod therein.
The release mechanism is movable between a lock position and a release position. The release rod is engaged with one of the recesses of the recline support with the release mechanism is in the lock mechanism. When in the release position, the release rod is spaced-apart from the recline support to allow the seat to pivot about the mounting rod.
Further, the seat of the seat assembly of the present invention is removable from the base in order to be placed on a vehicle seat independent of the base for use with older or larger children, for example. The seat includes a recline arm pivotally coupled to the seat shell and movable between a fully retracted position and a fully extended position. When the seat is coupled to the base, the recline arm is in the fully retracted position. When the seat is detached from the base and positioned on a vehicle seat, the recline arm can be moved to the fully extended position to support the seat on the vehicle seat.
Additional features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.